Monday, February 25, 2013

A race against the time to ensure shark and manta protection ! It's shark and manta ray week at Gili Lankanfushi

Black-tip reef shark in Lankanfushi lagoon

In just a few days (3rd of March), representatives from 177 countries are meeting in the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) conference in Bangkok. In this event four proposals which are crucial for better hammerhead, oceanic whitetip, porbeagle shark and manta ray protection will be voted upon. We need to press-on the Conference of Parties participants to secure international regulations on shark and manta trade. Up till today many species of sharks and manta rays are still being slaughtered in their millions yearly, all of that for inconsiderate cultural or unproven medicinal purposes. These animals are long living, slow growing and reproduce slowly. Without strict regulations they will eventually be driven to extinction. Animal consumption may represent tradition/beliefs, but in this case it is unsustainable, and should be stopped before it is too late. Manta rays and sharks are the top diver/snorkeler attractions and therefore are extremely valuable to tourism, which can be a sustainable economical alternative to the destructive fishing.

Great organisations such as ProjectAWARE, SharkSavers, MantaTrust and many others, have stood up for these magnificent animals. Gili Lankanfushi joins the movement by supporting the petition initiated by our marine biologist; which will be electronically sent to CITES, as a measure to encourage the Conference of Parties to vote for the crucial for shark and manta protection.